The company, which is notorious for introducing new features that force its customers to “turn off” default settings, has set up the “let my friends have my email” option … in the “off” mode. Yep, this is a nod to personal privacy. But it’s really an example of Facebook’s desire to have a stranglehold on all that personal data.

Before this announcement, it was possible to export your Facebook friends — at least a subset of them — using the import contacts feature at Yahoo mail and Hotmail. When I did this earlier this summer (post GooglePlus launch), the two sets were not identical (N was different). Clunky, though.

This new “opt in” feature seems to apply only to Facebook’s “download your info” tool. In other words, it is still possible to import Facebook contacts into Yahoo mail (I did not try Hotmail) … and this import/export process still doesn’t capture everyone. No, I don’t know why!

Check Your email Settings

You should probably check to see what email addresses you have associated with Facebook and if you still want to have them associated. What’s not clear is whether Facebook is sharing only your primary address (the language is singular) or all of your on-record email addresses, if you have more than one.

Log in to Facebook

Go to Account Settings (upper right drop-down menu)

See the email information (expand the collapsed view) by clicking “edit”

Also, while you’re in “general” Facebook account settings, you might want to check “linked accounts” — I have no memory of linking gmail and Facebook, but according to Facebook, anytime I’m logged in to my primary gmail account I have also been logged into Facebook. Ugh. No. Not anymore.

People don’t understand how important personal privacy is. It’s not just Facebook, Google and others having a history of usurping and degrading your need to privacy, but cybercrime is real and very dangerous.